Summary

When the Internet connection is down, its not possible to work with Automation Engine, many connection errors occur.

Symptoms

The user cannot connect the Pilot to Automation Engine and also the Interactive Applications have problems in connecting to the Server.

Solution

The cause of the problem is that the DNS cannot be reached by the servers, giving many limitations to the connections on the LAN. The "permanent" solution for this issue is to have the Internet connection available again. Normally, nothing needs to be restarted.

Workaround

While the Internet connection is not available, it is possible to workaround the problem by removing the DNS from the network configuration of the Servers (Automation Engine and FlexRip, FlexProof mainly).

After removing the DNS, it is suggested to check if the host file on the servers is updated with the IP and computer names of the servers. This will allow the servers to connect to each other without browsing the whole network.

Keep in mind that when the Internet is down, its not possible to send Email notifications from Automation Engine. After the Internet connection is up again, don't forget to add the DNS addresses again else the Emails will keep going without being sent. When the DNS is again added, it is not necessary to modify the hosts file anymore.

In most cases, after the DNS has been removed (or later added again), Automation Engine will take the connection again automatically, but in case it won't, you can do the Activate Server from the Automation Engine Admin page on the browser.